The Curious Village

Chapter 2: The Fugitive Feline

Matthews was waiting down in the hall, and then he came up to them.

"I'm terribly sorry professor. I will personally search the manor and the estate grounds. I feel dreadful asking, but would you mind taking a quick look about the village to see if Claudia is there?" he looked at the professor, rather shy to get an answer.

"Don't give it a second thought, my good man. We're on the case!" the professor was energetic in his speech.

He and Jenny got out on the terrace and, on the dirt path, a white little ball of fur was walking slowly. Jenny pointed towards the little animal. "Professor! There she is!" As she approached to get hold of the pet, the feline escaped from her and darted away from the manor. "Drat! She ran off..."

"We can't stop now. Let's give chase, Jenny. At least, she won't be able to escape. The manor's estate is surrounded by a large lake!"

"I wouldn't count on that." Ramon was sitting under a pine tree, looking at the cripples of water. "See, a bridge has been constructed years ago because of Lady Dahlia's sea sickness or should I say lake-sickness –ess –ess." He pointed where the bridge would stand and found Claudia running to the other bank.

__________

"Koff hack...hack! Blast, that burns! It looks like the engine blew out..." Smoke swirled and danced in the air, filling his long, pointy mustache and drenching its clothes with its odor. "So this is St Mystere, eh? The famed stomping ground of the late Baron Augustus Reinhold." He took his finger and twisted around it his mustache, making it curl like a pig's tail. "I wonder what kind of trickles the old man set up in this village before he shuffled off. Oh, Layton, you ridiculously dandy, just you wait! All the treasure you seek will be mine! Nyeh heh heh heh!"

__________

As they arrived to the village's square, Franco, the bridge lifter, stumbled upon them with fury. "Hrmph! Hey! You two! Help me out here, would you? I'm in a real pickle."

"What seems to be the problem, sir?" Jenny was surprised to see the man angry. His cheeks had all gone red and his teeth were grinding themselves. "Some fool went and raised the bridge while I was on my break. Hrmph! Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, that scoundrel made off with my only bridge crank! Hrmph!"

The professor was now scared, Jenny could read on his face. "Oh dear," he said "So you mean to say..."He didn't have to wait to get a response. "That's right. Until that thing turns up, no one is getting in or out of the village. I'm still looking for the blasted crank, but I'm too furious to get anything done. What kind of person would do something like this, anyway?!"

They left the man searching for the crank and entered a small establishment that looked like the village hall. A man with papers was sitting at his desk, signing some documents. His writing was neat nonetheless. As they closed the door behind them, the man lifted his head and look at them from behind his oval glasses. "This is the village hall. What business do you have here? I'm Rodney, the one who runs this village. If you have just moved here, I strongly advise that you fill out a change-of-address form."

The professor was ready to answer: "Oh, no, we aren't here for anything like that..."

"If you have no business here, I strongly advise that you make like a tree." And as he finished, they were both kicked out of the room.

"People are just crazy in this village professor!" stated Jenny. Layton agreed. He hadn't seen anyone act so abnormal in his life.

Just outside, as they got up and got some dirt off their clothes, Jenny whispered to the professor: "Aha, fluffy, purple bow, sullen expression. No doubt about it, that's Claudia!"